By Justin Goar-Blogger

Wasn’t that the show with Chris Elliot…?

Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez told Wolverine fans to “get a life” this week. Yeah Rich, that’s exactly what you want. The hundred grand worth of fans that show up in Ann Arbor on Saturdays taking leisure classes or gardening or volunteering at a soup kitchen instead of packing your stadium and cheering for your team.

I don’t know how things work in Michigan, but in Baton Rouge we put our lives on hold for football season. We schedule weddings, births (not always possible, trust me), and other events around LSU football Saturdays.

Several charities scramble to hold their fundraising events on bye weeks in order to get people to show up. And if an event has to happen on a game day, then the game is incorporated into the event, such as my daughter’s birthday parties for the next 18 years.

College football fans are some of the most dedicated fans in all of sports. Trust me Rich, you don’t want them to get a life. If they do, it’ll mean they’ve stopped caring, and that’ll mean you’ll have to “get a job.”

Now we’ll test the true power of this fully operational battle station...

With ESPN’s new deal with the SEC and with the BCS, look for:

- ESPN to finally push the SEC! Just think, such a move last year might’ve caused every single person on the ESPN Pre-game set to pick LSU instead of Ohio State before last year’s BCS Championship, instead of the other way around.

No one remembers that, do they? Everyone picked against Ohio State at ESPN. Everyone—Lee, Chris, Kirk, Desmond, Mark, Lou, guest commentators, interns, the sound guy, the camera man, runners, the teleprompter guy...!

- South Carolina to become Dr. Lou’s main talking point instead of Notre Dame.

- Fox analyst Charles Davis will jump to ESPN. This isn’t really a joke. He’s not horrible—for some reason I like him, and since Fox’s main network hosts about seven whole games a year, why not?

- Everyone at the worldwide leader to all of a sudden be OK with this BCS format instead of a playoff system. Which will prompt ESPN to hire the senior Jim Mora: “Playoffs!!!???? Don’t talk about playoffs!!! Are you kidding me, playoffs???!!”

- Everyone else in the nation to hate the SEC even more. Don’t hate...appreciate. Maybe the BCS championship could just be the SEC championship game. I’m just kidding.

-Oh crap, does this mean LSU will have to play Mississippi State right after “GameDay” with Pam Ward announcing?! Please God, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Get Excited, It’s Magnolia Bowl time!!!

What, you haven’t heard of the Magnolia Bowl?? Why, it’s been played 96 times since 1894. It’s the new name for the LSU-Ole Miss game. These two rivals hate each other and always seem to hook up late in the season. LSU and Ole Miss have taken turns spoiling each other’s seasons since the two schools started playing football.

This might not be a well-known rivalry across the nation, but the two fanbases are well aware of the history of hatred between the two schools. But since the game has lost some of the intensity through the years (mainly after those years ending in '50s or '60s), the game now has a new name.

The “Magnolia Bowl” was a joint creation by both schools' student governments in order to rejuvenate the rivalry. There will also be a traveling trophy awarded to the winner every year.

That now makes three rivalry games that LSU fans couldn’t care less about:

1) The Tiger Rag: the LSU-Tulane game

2) The Battle for the Golden Boot: the LSU-Arkansas game

3) The Magnolia Bowl: the LSU-Ole Miss game.

Be on the lookout for other fabricated rivalries in the future, like the Battle for the Platinum Overalls: the LSU-Mississippi State game.

Real rivalries don’t always need a name and a trophy. LSU fans are well aware the pest that Ole Miss has been to them in recent years, and it would make the Rebels’ season to beat LSU just about every year. No need to try and dress this thing up.

Other fun facts for this weekend:

LSU will try for win No. 700 of its program’s history against Ole Miss. Only 11 other programs have won that many games.

This will be the first time since 1997 that Ole Miss has played at Tiger Stadium during the day.

Why does that sound familiar to LSU fans?? Because it was the week after LSU upset No. 1 Florida 28-21. LSU came out and followed up Gerry DiNardo’s biggest win with a crippling loss, 36-21.

LSU’s win over Troy marked the 11th time in four seasons the Tigers have come back in the fourth quarter to win under Les Miles.

The month of November has been very good to LSU. The Tigers are 20 for their last 22 in November games.

Houston Nutt’s last visit to Tiger Stadium was a win when his Arkansas Razorbacks beat LSU in a 50-48 triple OT thriller last season.

Prediction? Pain

I didn’t like the intensity exhibited by the team in last week’s game, and the coaches did a poor job of preparing the players.

Maybe it was a one-week brain fart, and in light of it the Tigers will come out more focused this week, but inconsistency still runs amuck in the offense and defense in Baton Rouge. Ole Miss is not a pushover, and even when they are, they’ll play the Tigers tough. It’s just the nature of the rivalry lately.

When it comes down to it, I like Ole Miss’s offense to put up more points than LSU’s offense. It’s plain and simple, and a pretty disappointing senior day for the Tigers.

Ole Miss 34, LSU 28

Wee and Special Guest Co-Host Nootch discuss what went right about the Troy game, what went wrong, and what we should be worried about for Ole Miss. This episode is brought to you by a listener contribution from Richard Daigle.

Come to discuss the greatest comeback in LSU history and the *ugh* Magnolia Bowl.

LIVE CHAT AND STREAM http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/27523
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Call ID: 27523

by Justin Goar- Blogger

The biggest comeback in LSU history.

That’s what LSU’s 40-31 victory over Troy was Saturday night. After trailing 31-3 deep in the third quarter, the Tigers flipped the switch and Troy fell apart.

So if you’re savoring this win, I’m happy for you, but don’t let the result blind you.

LSU should never have gotten behind by four TDs in the first place. The fact that LSU won this game is a testament to LSU’s players and coaches for not quitting, but you should feel more negative feelings about this game than positive ones.

The biggest problem is LSU is not improving as the season progresses (see: Florida).

That’s the red flag.

This game turned into a runaway kid. You know, the kid that gets angry with his parents and decides to run away from home. After hours of being missing the parents are worried sick, but in the end, the kid gets found and the parents are so happy to see their little darling they don’t punish him, because in the end he wound up being safe.

Ground that kid for life!!! He still needs to learn his lesson. If no lesson was learned in this game, then next time there'll be no comeback.

This game brought on some other points...

1) The “agent of change”

When trying to decide what I was going to write about this week while it seemed LSU was going to drop a laugher, I thought that this game in the long run wouldn’t be a bad thing since it would probably mean the end of the dual defensive coordinator experiment.

I thought this game would force Les Miles’ hand to scrap the Doug Mallory and Bradley Dale Peveto arrangement at DC. Les is known as being loyal to his players and coaches, and I thought it would take a glaring trespass to remove these two guys.

Losing to Troy would be glaring. But after being torched by Troy’s spread for 31 points (err, make that 24—Jarrett Lee gave the other seven), the defense looked abysmal. No pressure, no coverage, no intensity, and they looked confused.

The defensive backs constantly played with too much cushion. I understand that comes from a coaching staff that doesn’t trust its DBs, but change it up every once in a while, will ya?

Troy dinked and dunked its way to 200 yards passing in the first half. LSU was picked apart like a Thanksgiving turkey.

If Les Miles, whose background is offense, wants to succeed, he’ll need a strong defensive coordinator. He used to have one in Bo Pelini. Miles thought by establishing Mallory and Peveto as the co-DCs and promoting from within he would be able to establish continuity in the defense, as well as stay loyal to his coaches.

The problem is, it’s not working out, and the shaky play of Jarrett Lee is overshadowing the real problem—the defense.

Losing this game would have insured that Miles would’ve made a change at DC. Now with what’s considered “good” defensive performances against Alabama and the ability to shut down Troy in the latter parts of Saturday’s game, this may keep these two guys in the same spots next year.

That’s not a good thing.

2) The offense

So many want to say it’s Offensive Coordinator Gary Crowton’s fault for putting Jarrett Lee in tough situations, but it’s not always the case. The main gripe is that we don’t run the ball enough, but those that watched the game knew that Charles Scott was getting stopped over and over again. No one seems to remember that for some reason.

Troy did exactly what you should do against LSU: Stack the box and make the QB beat you. Neither Lee nor true freshman Jordan Jefferson was able to do that until the waning moments of the third, where a dual effort by both QBs ended a drive in the end zone. From there, the defense stiffened and the two units fed off each other.

3) Jarrett Lee

You can heap as much praise as you want to on the kid for the comeback, and it’s well deserved, but he dug that hole in the ground that created the mountain he and the rest of the team had to climb.

Lee has spotted six out of the last seven teams he’s faced seven points each. He spotted Georgia 14.

The fact that LSU has only managed three losses (all to teams currently in the top 10) while basically starting each game with a -7 spot is incredible.

The simple fact is that Lee is young, inexperienced, still making mistakes, and is the victim of some bad luck as well.

What fans are worried about, though, is Lee’s lack of improvement through the year. Lee will never suffer for arm strength but has trouble with his progressions and reads. He sometimes forces balls he shouldn’t be forcing.

Little simple missteps that should be avoided through repetition are finding their way into his game week after week. So the question becomes: How much time does Lee need?

Is it too much to expect him to become more efficient as the season goes on, or does he need a whole year or two under his belt before he can pay dividends?

I’m not saying he needs to come along right now, but other than second halves against Auburn and Troy, little improvement has been shown. But again, he is a freshman.

4) The fans

OK, first off I can write anything critical I want to about Lee within reason. I can say he does things wrong mentally or mechanically and not be off base because this is still football we’re talking about, and those mistakes are happening in front of our faces.

I would never question his heart or his will to succeed even if they were in question because honestly, I don’t know the guy. (Not that either of those attributes are in question anyhow.)

I don’t know the time he puts in every week working to become better. But I do see where he makes mistakes on the football field and can comment on that.

But fans, c’mon, you can’t boo the guy. I don’t care how much you pay for your seat, you just can’t boo him.

Every week it gets worse.

Some disguise their actions by saying, “I wasn’t booing him, I was booing the coaching staff.”

How about not booing at all? Is that too crazy?

If you want to show discontent, don’t renew your season tickets or call in to Les Miles’ radio show and ask him a question. But the booing of Lee needs to stop. Period. He is trying his best, and after Saturday night, I don’t think there’s any question that he is our best option at the position right now, so deal with it.

Next issue...

If Tiger Stadium holds 92,000-plus, then about 60,000 people headed for the exits around halftime.

I know the weather had a lot to do with that. People down here don’t like the cold, and many go to games with wives and kids, which makes it difficult if you’re outvoted on staying and watching a team playing like garbage while suffering through a windy 30-degree wind chill debacle. Not to mention sitting through homecoming halftime, which lasts like 40 minutes.

So there were many strikes already working against the fans on this night.

And let’s be honest, this kind of thing happens all over the nation so don’t get too worked up about what other people (like ESPN) are saying about you.

Do I really care that so many fans left early?

For some reason I don’t. I’d rather someone leave early than boo. LSU basketball coach John Brady got fired when people refused to come to games. The fans’ message was finally sent and received.

While Les Miles praised the fans who did stay (and my hat's off to them as well), maybe the louder message was sent to Miles by those who left. That the first 30 and the ensuing 14 minutes of so-called football LSU put together was uninspiring, unwatchable, and unacceptable.

Since the game was only televised locally through pay per view, it took a real fan to stay in a seat or tuned to the radio after three quarters of such a horrid performance.

I was one of those pay per view guys who sat through the whole thing in the comfort of my living room. But I really wanted to watch the whole thing to see if the Tigers could put forth an effort at some point. Of course, they finally did, but the outcome of this game shouldn’t overshadow deficiencies that nine times out of 10 lose that game against an inferior opponent.

So in a way, I think it’s OK to leave, but another part of me dislikes the direction some of the fans are taking these days.

This fan base has become too spoiled in recent years, and it showed Saturday night. In my own very humble opinion, this is what happens when you price your regular fans out of the stadium and you get the richer fans who look at this as more of a social event or a chance to wine and dine clients, rather than the one of a kind football experience that it is—or at least it used to be.

The Athletic Department would tell you that it’s the cost of doing business if you want to be an elite program.

The fans responded by saying the price of your cost of doing business is only 30,000 fans in seats after halftime if your elite program lays an egg against a team like Troy.

It works both ways.

Could the fans have been better? Yes.

Could the players and coaches have done better? Yes.

Let’s wipe the slate clean and focus on the Rebels, because they’ll be exponentially more trouble than the Troy Trojans.

LSU avoided disaster last week—can they do the same against Ole Miss?

If they don’t, here’s one fan who wouldn’t be surprised.

I’m back...
 
How dare I neglect you all to help my newborn daughter along in the first two weeks of her life??!! How selfish! It won’t happen again.
 
Or maybe it will. I don’t know. I forgot what free time looks like.
 
Lil' Samantha says “Go Tigers!!”
 
Actually she doesn’t say anything yet, but I write “Alabama,” “Auburn,” “Florida,” and “Ole Miss” on every diaper, and you should see how she treats those.

Expectations
 
Just about every year since 2004, I have to have a little state of the union in the preseason with LSU fans regarding expectations.
 
They can be poison for a program. Nick Saban recognized it when he was here with the infamous “chicken little” syndrome.
 
Most Tiger fans knew with having to replace so many starters that LSU would suffer some tough losses this year. The general consensus was about three losses—where the Tigers sit now.
 
Those three losses were to the No. 1 team in overtime and two lopsided losses to the No. 3 team and No. 12 team in the nation. The No. 12 team lost to the No. 1 and No. 3 teams as well.
 
So with a few days to digest the tough loss to Alabama, LSU fans are coming around to the fact that they can finish 9-3. But just like preseason expectations, they best not count their chickens.
 
LSU will play Troy this weekend in a game that was postponed due to Hurricane Gustav.
 
Despite playing in the Sun Belt, Troy is a team that can surprise you.
 
Nationally, Troy is ranked in the top 20 in several important offensive categories. Also, the Trojans are No. 8 in the country in sacks, No. 4 in tackles for a loss, and No. 5 in interceptions.
 
Interceptions???
 
LSU fans are a little too familiar with those this year, especially the Pick Six variety.
 
After Troy, the Tigers take on Ole Miss, which gives LSU fits recently, especially in Tiger Stadium. Ole Miss beat the Florida Gators earlier in the season in the Swamp, and Alabama (and Wake Forest too) barely escaped the upset versus the Rebels.
 
Then LSU ends the regular season by going to Little Rock and taking on Arkansas, which won’t be as easy as most think either.
 
All that before the postseason. If the SEC champ goes to Miami and the loser of the SEC CG goes to New Orleans for the Sugar, then look for the Tigers to end up somewhere like the Cotton Bowl and taking on the odd man out in the Texas Tech-Oklahoma-Texas BCS Derby.
 
Any one of those three teams would spell trouble for the Tigers in Dallas.
 
So Tiger fans, please don’t assume the rest of the season is a cakewalk, and please don’t expect to win the bowl, even after winning the last three bowls.
 
Besides a dominant performance by Texas in ’02 and a Hail Mary by Iowa in ’04, the Tigers have won every bowl they’ve played in since 2000.
 
This year may prove to be a little tougher, and LSU fans must accept that. But with the current No. 2-ranked 2009 recruiting class according to ESPN, I wouldn’t consider the 2008 W-L record as the beginning of a trend, no matter how many people that may disappoint.
 
On the same track, I urge you to check out an article by newcomer Kevin Strickland about expectations, Nick Saban, and Alabama. He brings up great points.

Tide is high...
 
No way Alabama drops a game to Mississippi State or Auburn before they face Florida. There’s just absolutely no way. It just won’t happen. If I were a betting man, I’d wager just about everything I own on the fact that Bama will be undefeated going into Atlanta.
 
Even though Croom usually has his guys psyched up to face his alma mater, the Bulldogs won’t sniff a lead against Alabama because they can’t score. I mean, barring some kind of unlikely offensive explosion and a massive letdown in play because of a hard-fought, emotional win in Baton Rouge last week, this is a virtual lock for the Tide.
 
And after the meltdown at Auburn this year, it looks like the streak will finally be broken. I’m sure the Tide fans know how important this game will be in getting to the National Championship, and I’m sure they won’t go in with the foregone conclusion that they’ll destroy Auburn and will look ahead to the Gators, so the fans won’t mentally be into the game as much as usual. That would never happen.
 
So two easy wins for the Tide as they cruise into Atlanta to face the Gators for a right to play for the National Championship. But for the next two weeks, nothing to see here, just the Tide cakewalking to Atlanta and then Miami. Nothing, and I mean nothing, could ever possibly stand in their way now. I’d wish them luck, but they would never need it in two games they could sleepwalk through and still win.
 
I’m naming what I just wrote as “passive aggressive voodoo.” RTR.

Guns up b!#&*^$...
 
I’m not quite sure why, but I kind of like Texas Tech. I can’t really explain it. I’ve been friendly towards UT through the years (mainly because of my aversion to the Aggies), and I’m not the biggest Oklahoma fan you would find. But as I look down the list for potential NC contenders, the Red Raiders are a team I want to see in Miami for these reasons three.
 
1) Offense, Offense, Offense!!!
 
Don’t get me wrong—I think defense wins championships. But all this crazy offense and point scoring is the exciting mistress to my happily married defensively dominating SEC way of life.
 
2) Mike Leach
 
I think he should have his own reality show. The stuff that comes out of this guy’s mouth is Gary Busey-esque. Yet he’ll be a sought after coach in the offseason. But given what he’s done in the conference/division he’s doing it in and getting quality players to commit to four years in West Texas, the dude deserves the run he’s getting.
 
3) The underdog/feel-good story
 
With the loss of Penn State and Joe Pa trying to go out on top as a potential movie-like storyline, TTU could be a Cinderella story, especially when looking down the list of all the titans residing in the Big 12 (oops, my bad, I meant the Big XII) this year.
 
Then, there’s the rest of this list.
 
USC—do we really want to see them in this game? Florida and Alabama? I know I’m supposed to cheer for the SEC, but why would I wish a crystal ball for teams that recruit in the same circles as my team? No thanks!
 
Who else is there?
 
I would love to see Texas Tech get a National Championship. What better way to recognize the fact that parity is here to stay (somewhat) in college football. Go Red Raiders!!!

“It seems like you left the stem off the apple”
 
I’ll leave you this week on personal note. Words fail me as I try to describe the feeling of being a first time dad. I can, however, offer you a quick story...
 
My daughter was born the morning of Nov. 1, and my wife went into labor around 11:00 p.m. Halloween night. So besides a 30-minute “resting my eyes” session around 4 a.m., I had little sleep, and with all the action that occurred that day, I never had a chance to eat until the early evening that Saturday.
 
With family keeping the baby company and the wife resting, I was told to go get something to eat. With the excitement finally dying down, my appetite agreed.
 
As I walked down to the cafeteria by myself, I thought about how beautiful my little daughter was as she slept peacefully after a tough day on the move.
 
Then I thought back to how my friends and I would joke that I should have a boy, but I probably wouldn’t. I never had a brother growing up and always wanted one, and I’d honestly be lying if I was saying I wasn’t slightly pulling for a boy, being a sports nut and all.
 
All of that disappeared, however, the first time I laid my eyes on my daughter.
 
As I got to my table with my food I started to eat, and the guy at the table across from me gave me a look of recognition as if he knew today was a special day for me.
 
“First child?” he asked.
 
“Yeah, a little girl,” I replied.
 
“Looks like someone got it right,” he smiled.
 
“What do you mean?” I wondered.
 
“My wife had our third boy last night.”
 
“Wow, three kids, how old are you?” I asked, not realizing that the question may be inappropriate.
 
“I know I look young, but I’m 30. It's because I'm short.”
 
Trying to change the subject back, I say, “So three boys, huh?”
 
“Yeah, no girls yet. I’m dying for a little girl. Maybe next time.”
 
“We could trade,” I joked. “My wife is tired, she might not know the difference.”
 
And on that joke we playfully ended our brief interaction as he started to take his tray from his table. Or so I thought.
 
As he passed me, he stopped and said, “I just have to ask, how tall are you?”
 
“Six four,” I answered.
 
“Man, that’s tall, she was probably a big girl, eh?”
 
“Yep,” I nodded.
 
“Well, I guess it makes sense with you being a big guy...” he thought out loud.
 
Then he said something that was probably so innocuous to him, but I think I’ll remember it and this story for the rest of my life.
 
“Little boys don’t need daddies that big,” he stated as he was walking away.
 
“No, I guess they don’t,” I thought to myself.
 
Until next time...Go Tigers!!!
 

Wee and JJ breakdown the heartbreaking loss to Bama, what we can do to salvage the season, and what to do about Jarrett Lee. There's a Troy preview in here somewhere too. Special thanks to our caller for the night, tigerdro.

Wee and Pat break down the less-than-stellar Tulane game, then Larry Copack from The Tidecast joins us to discuss Saturday's blockbuster matchup in Death Valley

Well, what would you suggest then???

LSU fans should’ve known how Saturday’s game against the Georgia Bulldogs was going to turn out. LSU’s live mascot “Mike VI” refused to get in his transport to be taken to the stadium to make his usual pre-game appearance. Thus, he never showed because, let’s face it, are you gonna make a 700-pound tiger do something he doesn’t want to do?

Word is, this happens every once in a while, and Mike’s handlers are never going to make him do anything by force. As Georgia Dawg suggested, maybe he was scared of Georgia’s live mascot, UGA?

Nah. In fact, let’s schedule a play date for the two mascots, seeing as how the play date for the two teams didn’t really work out for me.

I think the real reason is that the game was way too early, but that’s just my opinion.

What really grinds my gears...

No one is trying to discredit Florida’s National Championship in ’06 by saying that Urban Meyer won with Ron Zook’s players. Yet everyone seems to think LSU coasted to a National Championship last year due to someone else’s recruiting. Apparently, I could’ve coached these guys to a Championship. Who knew?

To add to that fact, LSU’s 2003 National Championship was discredited in a sense by USC’s claim to the AP National Championship.

Every time we win something, someone tries to take it away from us. That kind of thing could give a fanbase a complex.

Now since Alabama is undefeated and because LSU has dropped two games, we get to read articles about how LSU is crumbling with Miles at the helm. All hail Saban!

But if you look at LSU’s schedule since 2000 (Saban’s first year), you see a commonality in the ebb and flow of the win-loss records year by year.

LSU’s record since 2000

2000 8-4

2001 10-3

2002 8-5

2003 13-1

2004 9-3

2005 11-2

2006 11-2

2007 12-2

With the exception of 2006, even-year schedules tend to be down years for LSU compared with their odd counterparts. Scheduling has a lot to do with this, but it’s become a fact of life.

But since 2000, LSU has NEVER won the SEC West in an even year. NEVER.

Maybe fans were spoiled in ’06 when Miles got the team to the Sugar Bowl and an 11-2 record in an even year, and then a conference championship and national championship the following season. Although Saban had more even years than Miles has had so far, Saban never lost less than three games in even years, something Miles may do this year but hasn’t yet.

When Saban did struggle, it was because he had inexperience at QB and in the defensive secondary. Sound familiar?

All this stuff about “Miles winning with Saban’s players” and now the purple and gold retort of “Saban is winning with Shula’s players” is childish and ignorant, and it needs to stop.

Some writers take great pleasure in trying to bait reactions from opposing fanbases (and I’m not talking about a certain respected writer’s one-time foray into the Gator art of smack).

Lisa Horne did a great article on trolls a while back. Well, guess what? They don’t just appear on message boards.

I don’t know about you, but I didn’t have to pass a screening process to get on B/R. Neither do these guys. Take everything you read with a grain of salt. The fair, rational, intelligent fans know who speaks the truth and who is just out there to flame other fans under the guise of being a writer.

I’m not saying no one should ever write with the intent of eliciting a reaction. Most writers want reader reaction, especially if the author has given us something to mentally chew on. Heck, some successful columnists and radio hosts make an entire career out of getting under your skin.

Why?

Because we keep taking the bait.

But most intelligent readers can tell by a writer’s tone and demeanor in their work exactly the kind of person they are dealing with. I would think most could tell the difference between a writer with a valid opinion (that may in fact differ from yours) over one who tries to build their read and comment count by venomous yellow journalism.

I mean, I might come up with some pretty outlandish stuff sometimes, but at least those of you that know me know how to take what I say.

And another thing, Tiger and Tide fans: Remember that no arguments will be won in 2008. If you really feel the need to duke it out, let’s meet back here in a few years, say 2011, and we’ll let the smack fly then.

Alabama fans need to enjoy their run this season, and LSU fans should focus on their team trying to finish strong.

And both should look forward to what will hopefully be a great match up on Nov. 8 in Baton Rouge.

It’s possible to do this in a civil way, LSU and Bama fans, I promise.

I’m about to be a dad—don’t make me come back there!

Or you know what, just go nuts on each other. Who cares. What am I...your mother?

(The preceding was directed to the small number of LSU and Bama fans who act this way and is not representative of the majority of fans...I think.)


It’s in the numbers...

4----No. of TD passes Tennessee quarterback Nick Stephens has this season.

4----No. of TD passes LSU quarterback Jarrett Lee has to opposing teams this season.

19----No. of interceptions SMU QB Bo Levi Mitchell has thrown this season, seven more than the two players tied for second.

23----No. of times Bo Levi Mitchell has been sacked this season, second only to Arkansas’ Casey Dick (24).

5----No. of SMU offensive linemen that owe Bo Levi Mitchell a round at the bar.

1----University of Louisiana-Lafayette’s rank among all FBS schools in rushing yards.

118----UCLA’s rank among all FBS schools in rushing yards. Only SMU and San Diego State were worse.

887,739----No. of LSU fans that cringe whenever University of Louisiana-Lafayette is referred to as “Louisiana.” Don’t be in that number. Call them Ooooh Lah Lah. They love that.

6 ----No. of times the confederacy, a confederate general, civil war jokes, or saying “we” when talking about the South in the Civil War was mentioned by Georgia fans in the first hour I spent with them this past Saturday. (I really liked them though, but “Hello culture shock!!”)

 

I’m no expert...

Through my years of college football fandom, I fancied myself a good prognosticator. Then a couple of years ago I got the idea to pick against my wife for the college bowl season. I did this the first year and won, and it got such a good response (mostly for my wife’s less than football knowledgeable girly system of picking) that I brought it back for a second season.

So we did it a second season for last year’s bowl games, and lo and behold, the wife beat me by one game. My pride hurt a little, but that faded away as her apathy for the game didn’t really lead her to rub it in my face—which kind of made it worse, like she just picked names off a page and then flipped back to her What Not to Wear marathon.

To avenge my loss to the fairer sex, I agreed to pick against Lisa Horne in her effort to beat down all the fellas from the B/R college football community. Then I absolutely embarrassed myself against the spread, going three for 10. Which is good in baseball, right?

So why should you listen to my picks? Well, because like a gambler after a series of bad beats, I’m due. But due to swearing off picking against women until bowl season and the fact that my dog had trouble fitting me into her schedule, I’m going to start picking against inanimate objects.

I mean, what good is a dartboard if you can’t blindfold yourself and throw sharp objects at it? Don’t worry—this time I'm going to do it sober.

I simply assigned even or odd to a team for each game and blindly chucked a dart at the board. So just two 911 calls and a container of caulk later, I bring to you this week’s picks: Me vs. Dartboard.

It’s time to bring the rain…


Auburn +6.5 at Ole Miss

Auburn is on life support, and Ole Miss has a chance to position themselves for a better bowl.

Justin says: Ole Miss 22-20

Dartboard says: Auburn +6.5

Pitt +4.5 at Notre Dame

I think the Irish are finding their groove. Are they going to be able to tackle LeSean McCoy though?

Justin says: Notre Dame 28-21

Dartboard says: Notre Dame

Tennessee +5.5 at South Carolina

The Gamecocks’ D makes the difference in Columbia.

Justin says: South Carolina 20-13

Dartboard says: South Carolina

Nebraska +22 at Oklahoma

Maybe one day Bo Pelini will have his boys ready enough to make this rivalry a great one again. But this won’t be that day.

Justin says: Oklahoma 44, Nebraska 20

Dartboard says: Nebraska

Florida State +2.5 at Georgia Tech

This is a statement game for both teams. Which team will make more noise?

Justin says: Florida State 26, GT 23

Dartboard says: Georgia Tech

Florida at Georgia +6

Hope the Dawgs didn’t get too high after last week’s win over LSU. Tim Tebow promised me he’d play harder than anyone else in the country. I think Knowshon could give Timmy a run for his money. Still, I like the Gators in this one.

Justin says: Florida 41-31

Dartboard says: Florida -6

Texas at Texas Tech +4

Not only do the Red Raiders get a chance to spoil a rival’s season, they also get a chance to make their own claim to play in Miami. Everything tells me to take the Horns (mainly defense), but I’m not going to.

Justin says: Texas Tech 45, Texas 41

Dartboard says: Texas -4

(Touché dartboard, well played.)

 

Speaking of gambling with our future...

Well, while most of you are choosing who our next president will be this coming Tuesday, my wife and I will hopefully be welcoming our first child to this world.

We decided to be surprised when it came to finding out the sex of the baby, and this has led to some wagering amongst friends.

So why stop with friends?

Feel free guess the sex. Heck, you can even suggest a name if you like. The wife ruled out “Mike the Tiger Goar” for a boy or “Valley” as in “Death Valley” for a girl, so I am out of ideas.

I’m planning on getting a lot less sleep and trying to perfect the art of changing the diaper in true calf roping or NASCAR pit crew time, so you may not hear from me for a little while. But I’m also taking off from work for a while, so who knows. Nevertheless, I’ll be back and hopefully with more life experience the next time we meet.

Until then...Go Tigers!!!

Wee, JJ, and caller Nootch break down the Tigers break down against UGA, what needs to change for the Tigers to remain successful, preview the UGA/FL game, and discuss a little about Tulane